| BSAC NDC E-Bulletin - December 2009 Issue 54 - www.bsac.com |
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News from the National Diving Committee
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Issue 54 – Special Diving Officer’s Conference edition
National Diving Officer Without question, this has been a very difficult year for the majority of BSAC members, coupled with the organisation going through an election process with subsequent change of some Council Officers' and a very closely controlled and managed budget, it has been a very challenging first 6 months in office. The following articles are focused on what is coming in the next 12 months. Skill Development Courses At the outset, I reviewed all of the 60 projects under the control of NDC. The projects had made headway, but based on skill development course popularity, condition and currency of the supporting materials I reprioritised activities and asked Richard Scarsbrook to lead the initiative. We have focused on bringing the courses into line with the quality and production standards of our recent SDC offerings, along with making any obvious or overview due corrections and/or updates. The revamped/updated courses that will be coming on line between now and March 2010 are: 
Retention I also commissioned NDC to produce a white paper on the question of retention. The report, written and produced by Andy Henning, is being acted upon. The report involved data mining various databases, the reviewing of past and current surveys and the available data on our competition, both passive and active, etc. The report contains sensitive information that we do not wish to enter the public domain, so the document is not in general distribution. What is interesting is that 47% of our membership today is achieved through 'word of mouth'. Our greatest attrition rate is identified for members aged between 21 and 30. The key reason sited for departing is the inability of our system to train members at a "reasonable rate". We have a high proportion of members that have joined the BSAC that have not achieved Ocean Diver status within a 2 year period. 72% of our members are happy with the benefits.  Seamanship: a guide for divers At DOC we are launching Edition 2 of the manual 'Seamanship: a guide for divers'. This is virtually a complete rewrite of the original with all new colour graphics. A new manual on Expedition Diving should be released in the first half of 2010.  Snorkelling for All The BSAC received a grant from Sport England to sponsor the creation of 200 Snorkelling Instructors by March 31st 2010. The initiative was initially led by Bob Healey and Mary Tetley. Through perseverance, i.e. several applications, we managed to secure a grant. To-date we have received 400 applications. Logistically, this is very challenging. Andrea Dickens is the Project Leader.  Snorkelling Programmes Two new snorkelling programmes will launch in 2010, currently scheduled for March 31st. The new Corporate Snorkelling Programme will shortly be piloted. The system includes a badge based snorkelling scheme that should appeal to the under 18s. The replacement Snorkelling Training Programme will be introduced and follows closely the style and quality of the Diver Training Programme. Although there are synergies between the two programmes, the programmes are targeting different markets with their own specific demands, so will have a different deliver model. This is a significant undertaking, I am very thankful for the efforts of the snorkel core team, Council and BSAC HQ support and to all those volunteers that have contributed towards its development.  Snorkelling Branch of the Year In line the Branch of the Year, we are introducing the equivalent award for Snorkelling Branches sponsored by Scubapro. We will accept entries from January 1st 2010 with a closing date of October 31st 2010.  Events 2010 The BSAC programme of events has been outsourced for the last few years. This year I took the decision to ask for it to be produced and managed in-house electronically. It does allow us more flexibility in updates/changes/to have a rolling programme and hope that this is viewed as a positive step. User can save a local copy or print a copy from the Events 2010 page on bsac.com.  Neptune Medal As NDO, I was approached with an application for an award that did not fit with anything we had on offer and yet was deserving of recognition. I therefore took the opportunity to create a new award. Note that the medal illustrated is a mock-up. The award is to be identified with any project, individual or team that uses diving to support or serve a far greater cause. The award goes to the Army Sub-Aqua Diving Association for its work on supporting our service personnel wounded on combat operations and who are coming to terms with their disabilities, both physically and mentally and contributes to the process of rehabilitation of those whose wounds often lead to life changes. The service personnel were wounded in both Iraq and Afghanistan. A picture paints a thousand words:   Thank you! I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our volunteers, including our members, NDC, Council, Coaches and BSAC HQ staff for all your hard work, self sacrifice and continuing contribution to the BSAC. Without the team we cannot succeed. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy diving in 2010 Jeff Reed National Diving Officer Awards
Reports from the Groups Diver and Coaching Group This is a new group on NDC and has a wide area of responsibility. Below is a list of our roles and who is responsible for the various areas. Please note, that not every role holds an NDC position, in general an Advisor does not sit on NDC but provides the information to the Group Leader to feed into NDC. Group Leader - Dave Lock Manages the group and represents them on Steering Group. Diver Training Chief Officer - John Kermode Responsible for Diving Grades from Ocean Diver to Advanced Diver: The current remit is to look at the development of these grades, the interface with technical, instructor and specialist qualifications (such as boat handling). A particular focus will be to ensure that the widest range of BSAC qualifications is attainable within the Branch structure. Coaching Team Leader - Dave Lock Responsible for the Coaching teams and their integration into NDC: Dave will look at the roles of the coaches and try to simplify their job descriptions. At the moment they have very diverse roles and responsibilities. Coaching Team Advisor - Alison Farrow Responsible for developing the roles of the coaches and ensuring they have the tools they need to support their Regional Teams and Branches Military Advisor - Nick Harrington Responsible for advising NDC about Military Diving Qualifications Joint Services Liaison - Steve Cox Responsible for advising on the integration and suitability of BSAC training and its adoption by Military Diving Schools for their non-Military Diver Training BSAC Centres Liaison - position vacant Will be responsible for advising on the integration and suitability of BSAC training and its adoption by BSAC Centres Safety and Rescue Skills Chief Officer - Andy Procter To ensure that Rescue Skills are updated to reflect current thinking with other organisations. First Class Chief Examiner - Andy Hunt Responsible for maintaining and developing the First Class Diver Exam, making it more relevant to diving today: Will also look at the progression of skills needed to develop Advanced Divers into First Class Divers. Expeditions Advisor - Max Ruffert Responsible for promoting and encouraging BSAC Expeditions, including the BSAC Expeditions Grant Scheme (BEGS) and the Regional Expeditions Diving Scheme (REDS). Snorkel Training Chief Officer - new position University Branch Liaison - new position So what have we been doing? 2009 SDC development - most of the current SDCs have been updated and the visual aids and instructor/student manuals have been made into BSAC "house style". The remaining SDCs will be updated over the next few months. New Manual - A new Seamanship Manual should be available at DOC 2009. Integration of Military training into BSAC qualifications - Military Divers now undergo a Sports Diving qualification before Military Diver Training. This introduction to diving proves their suitability for working underwater to the exacting Military standards, they then progress to a Military Diving Qualification. Previously there was no easy cross-over to BSAC grades but the introduction of a Sport Diving course make this relatively easy. The cross over criteria will be produced by the Military and accepted by BSAC by January 2010. Working with the Coaches - The Coaches have been utilised to preview and review the new SDC material. They are ideally placed to do this as they have good experience of running these SDCs within their Regions. Expedition Grants are not solely allocated to expeditions within UK or home waters. The process has now been simplified to ensure it reflects the sort of diving expeditions being completed by BSAC members. What will we be doing? All of the above and more . . . Other publications planned in the near future are a Safety and Rescue Manual, as well as an Expeditions manual. We need BSAC members input to let us know what you want. This can be done via your Regional Coaches or directly to the Coaching Team Leader. Dave Lock Diver Training and Coaching Group Leader Awards
First Class Divers Congratulations to all our new First Class Divers accredited in 2009: Steve Capes, Brian Hickman, Gary Whyke, Ed Howarth, Lisa Shafe, Luisa Smith, Stephen Adams, Mike Holroyd, Paul Compton, David Taylor Instructor Training  Instructor Training Scheme achievements 2009 The role of the instructor Training Group is to focus on reviewing, developing, refining and keeping up to date all the instructor grades within the BSAC. OWI has been very busy again in 2009. In total we ran 54 Instructor Foundation Courses. When you consider each event has on average 6 staff available from a pool of 300 or so, you can appreciate we're kept quite busy. In addition to this the same staff are working on the 38 Open Water Instructor Courses, 35 Practical Instructor Exams and 42 Theory Instructor Exams. And what did all that effort really add up to? We're delighted to say it has resulted in 259 new Open Water Instructors and many more well on their way to the qualification. Congratulations to all who have been successful. On the flip side we are constantly looking closely at the reasons for students not achieving the grade on occasions and looking at how we can improve our own training and guidance to ensure more positive results in developing our instructors. Advanced Instructor has been busy too. This year we ran 10 Advanced Instructor Courses from the South West of England up to Scotland. This year, we're delighted to announce, we have 33 new Advanced Instructors. It's culmination of a tremendous amount of work and effort so well done to each and every successful new AI. Once people have passed AI we ask them if they would like to attend an Instructor Trainer Development Courses (ITDC). The ITDC is the first step to becoming an Instructor Trainer. This year we ran 1 event resulting in more keen new members of the team ready to continue their development on the ITS by working under supervision of an experienced ITS instructor on courses (IFC & OWIC) and Exams (PIE & TIE) until they are confident and competent to go 'live'. This year we ran 5 formal prep events for would be National Instructors. Even for these very highly motivated and experienced candidates there is much to learn and these prep events serve to let those attending know what they need to concentrate on. Prepping for NI is a long term commitment and this year 3 people passed NI, a huge achievement. Contrary to popular belief NI is not an impossible task, far from it. We clearly state what we need in all our material, we also know there are many more people capable of passing the exam, they just need to register, prepare well and take the exam. The added bonus for BSAC is that even starting on the route to NI improves the skills of Instructor Trainers teaching on other ITS events. Looking ahead 2010 During the year we will continue to monitor the ITS and ensure our events run as smoothly and successfully as ever. In addition our biggest challenge has and continues to be looking at Advanced Instructor in detail and develop the grade so that it reflects our training needs as an organisation. We have identified that we need to work towards producing better Dive Managers. To help do this we need to equip our Advanced Instructors with the skills to be able to teach Dive Management. We also have a responsibility to develop instructors after they qualify as Open Water Instructors, so we are developing our thoughts on instructor tutoring. Finally it has long been recognised that there are many times when a teaching opportunities naturally occur, we need to arm our Advanced Instructors with the tools to be able to identify these chances and exploit them to the benefit of the membership. It's a big project and we are aiming to pilot courses early in 2010 and develop on from there. We have also been working on several initiatives to encourage and make our club more appealing to a younger age group. If we can develop our membership in this area we will continue to develop as an organisation. With that in mind we are investigating the idea of crediting those who have attended a Snorkel Instructor Trainer Course and are Dive Leaders with the equivalent status of those who have attended an instructor Foundation Course. This will be of interest to a large number of our younger members who are keen snorkellers and divers. In addition we are looking at ways we can support and develop our student members to help them achieve instructor status. Student branches not only train significant numbers of new divers every year they also inevitably have a high turn over of instructors as they move into work etc. So we are looking at initiatives to support student branches so they can continue to develop instructors and divers within their branches. Another area we will be looking into is the standard of the instructors we are producing as an organisation. It has been brought to our attention that once qualified the level of instruction provided by our instructors varies. Often it is excellent, but not always. As a consequence of this we will be looking at the way we train our instructors and see if there are any improvements that can be made in the way we assess would be instructors when we examine them. One final issue we will be addressing is our own instructors on the Instructor Training Scheme. This team continues to provide excellent instruction, but there is always room for improvement. So to start with we will be inviting feedback from students attending courses to assess our performance from their perspective. Thanks We'd like to thank all the students for coming forward to the ITS and encourage them to keep developing and progressing. We also wish them all the best when they take their next steps. We would also like to thank all the ITS staff. Their commitment is extraordinary, their enthusiasm seems to be boundless and their expertise is a great credit to them and a great asset to BSAC. Mark Wilson Instructor Trainer Group Leader Awards:
Congratulations to new instructors accredited between December 1 and November 26 2009. National Instructors: Sophie Dyhouse, Phil Harrison and Jamie Heptonstall. Advanced Instructors Steve Cowley, Brian James, Timothy George Partridge, Margaret Ruth Dunn, Jason Bird, Iain Dixon, Stuart Jones, Michael Peakman, Teresa Darbyshire, Mark Steinhart, Dean Watson, Laurence Connors, Mark Gosling, Matthew Newman, Evert Moes, Richard Savage, Michael Whitley, John De Lara, Jennifer Hall, Simon Mortimer, Paul Cadenhead, James Jardine, Jez Spring, Michael Stewart, Chad Wilkinson, Edward Haynes, Brynley Clode, Joe Adshead, Lindsey Doyle, John Stephen Howarth, Catherine Cogman, Gareth Morris, Robert Christie, Victoria Elliott, Sheli Bowman, Paul Bayne, Andreas Fabian, Alessandro Grioni, David Jones, Philip Morris, Richard Burdekin, Wolf Wolvekamp, Roger Purvis, Allen Murray, Alistair Ross, Guy Story, Neil Barker, Martyn Bowie, Timothy Gort, Paul Newell, Keith Sargeant, Peter Hopson, Tim Butt, David Bell, Open Water Instructors Richard Bentley, Chris Wade, Craig Malcolm, Julie Shanahan, John Hayes, Clarke Duncan, Llewelyn Williams, George Hooper, Nicholas Potter, Dawn Blackman, Heike Weichert, Nigel Keighley, Martyn Brown, Robert Waterfield, Jason Pepper, Steve Elliott, Simon Brown, Chris Clayton, Rebecca Midtkandal, Andrew Winnett, Catriona Walker, Grainne Sugrue, David Sawdon, Peter Nicholls, Pavel Loiteris, Faye Nicholls, Robert Charles, Trevor Payne, Scott Holland, Nigel Woolley, Matthew Borges, Paul van der Lem, Piotr Lukasik, Shaun Martin, Richard John Harris, Natalie Eleanor O'Sullivan, Stuart John Stubbs, Robert Luke Barnett, Ruth Hughes, Paul Halford, Neil Garry Richardson, John Gladding, Jay Kaminski, Dennis Gutteridge, Andrew Mason, Kendra Coufal, Susan Foye, Ruselle Meade, Gerard O'Neill, Luca D'Avenia, Rowena Marzoli, Peter Huson, Ben Suzuki, Andrew Eastwood, Keith Woolgar, Paul Cank, Joanne Claire Dowling, Stephen Clark, David Leverton, Debbie Heaton, Amr Samir Hamdy, Quentin Mortiner Meyer, Terence Wood, Jim Buntin, Caroline Pillow-Charlesworth, Sian Griffiths, Kevin Fox, Steve Mason-Thompson, Jason McNaught, Craig Scholes, Kristina Downey, Jason Polson, Catherine Buckland, Mark Shilling, Jens Fasterling, Ian Barbara, Corinna Heipcke, Diana Jones, Stuart Norris, Robert Owen, Margaret Ashton, Jonathan Baker, Bob Huyton, Andrew Judson, Gary Friedman, Ian Macdonald, Anne Buchan, Colin Wishart, Paul Thomas, Naomi Keir, Alan Rees, Julie Oswald, Gerard Storey, William Jones, Thomas Hazel, Kelly Collins, William Higgin, Kay Rafidi, Steve Kinson, Simon Crook, Brian Pentland, Sam McCarlie, Rosanna Milligan, Peter Webster, Peter Deane, Nicola Mc Donnell, Lee Coleman, Ian George Wilson, Gavin Wilkie, Alexander Zacheshigriva, Christine Tyson, Peter Walsh, Roger Jenkins, Shaun Lambert, James Pickup, Sarah Louise Iles, Daniele Zanoni, Tarek Mohammed Mahmmoud, Mandy South, Graham Thurlbeck, Rebecca Filtness, Steven Beasley, Paul Spence, Noel Talbot, Neil Martin, Leon Nesbitt-Hancock, Joshua Finley, Mark Griffin, Hayley Louise Weeks, Damian Middleton, Philip James Makin, Alison Beasley, Alan McKewan, Ghassan Aljefri, Christopher Orritt, Paul Corner, Ian Corner, James Winfield, Arran Waters, Pieter Severein, John Raine, Jonathan Platt, Nicholas McPherson, David Launder, James Ellis, Oliver de Wilde, James Bromige, Wayne Dunn, David Clack, Rhys Lewis, Christopher Jiggens, Benjamin Morgan, Dale Roberts, Paul Jobbins, Crispin Richards, Frank Bell, Zoe Diderich, Toby Hope, Tim Collier, Peter Exton, Paul Prater, Ian McDean, Hazel Gidley, Chris Bond, Alison Gaudion, John Fellows, Shaun West, Patricia Carter, Susan Thompson, Susan Spence, Gavin Burgoyne, David Spencer, Ronald MacRae, Peter Hawkins, David Rogers, Neil Hillyer, Iain Spence, David Harvey, Eamonn Britnell, Andrew Woods, Clare Barber, Chris Higgins, Robin Harris, Neil Crawley, Fiona Crawley, Adrian Colegate, Sara Platts, Neil Greenfield, Tom Tongs, David Michael Bates, Craig Bate, Sarah Dickson, Lee Cawkwell, Cedric Milcendeau, Richard Anthony Andrew Makepeace, Mike Keep, Jonathan Lord, Kevin Gleeson, Kennedy Sampson, Andy Manning, Brett Bader, Nora Holford, Sean Taylor, Robin Smith, Paul Fry, Mark Mosley, Fiona Imlach, Christopher Barr, Bruce Mills, Stephen De Burgh-Thomas, Bryan Llewellyn, Matthew Lawrence, Robert Hugh Fraser, Robert Davis, Colin Walker, Neil Oliver, Gino Pulizzi, Nicholas Todd-Jones, William James McDonald, Gavin Watson, David John Lord, Mark Thompson, Bernard Peterson, Pamela Keenan, Mohamed Al Hosani, Antonio Greco, Etienne Legendre, Peter Degiorgio, Anna Degiorgio, Gordon Brown, Chris Goddard, Dave Taylor, Sue Rosser, Andrew Last, Christopher Price, Nick Martin, Mark Orchard, Wendy Stoltz, Mohammed Ali Humaid, Cliff Reeves, David Reid, Chris Gooda, Andrew Mulholland, Simon Child, Oliver Meaden, Catherine Boorer, Rilana Goossens, Michael Milner, Rebecca Goodwin, Stephan Honig, Robin Jones, Rikki Harden, Laura Mulhair, Laura Nolan, Andrew Foster, Paul McBride, John Cronin, Stuart Peel, David Keogh, Lloyd Smith, Edward Hartwell, Christopher Hewitt, Sonia Jones, Elizabeth Straughan, Craig Russell, Ian Mackay, James Stewart, Nicki Martin, Ross Pollard, Matthew Paul Newbound, Alexander Fox, Lyden Singleton, Graham Rintoul, Colin Bancroft, Stephen Morgan, Rod Reeves, Lynn Campbell, Ian Lingham, Duncan Lamont, Kathryn Sizer, Alexander Duval, Geraint Griffiths, Greg Williamson, Lesley Harper, Christopher Chubb, Jeremy Davies, Andrew Edwards, Ian Clarke, Mark Barrier, Richard Parry, Wayne Rowland, Sophie Howell, Deiniol Williams, John Chambers, Ciara Cronin, Alexander Dougal, Jonathan Drinkwater, Garry Hems, David Hughes, Steven Riley, Joseph Sniadek, Gregory Taylor, Celia Lane, Paul Sully, Robin Doran, Josette Farrugia, Nigel Kitchingman, Stuart Duncan, Darren Weller, Grahame Gordon, Ian Clooney, Ian Peers, Lyndon Hamer, Paul Bowman, Emma Yates, Desmond Powell, Nial Greeves, Russell Heath, Andrew York, Alvaro Pereira, Roger Reynolds-Smith, Peter Sullivan, Paul Marc Reid, Michael Oxborrow, Kathryn Pelham, Joseph Bone, Chris Lienhard, Daniela Popper, Donna Bowen, Denis Durrant, Penny Orford, Scott Foster, Davorin Dobravc, Neil Leslie Phillips, Wendy Northway, Jonathan Hoult, Gordon Kaye, Ian Firmin, Frank Buskase, Cor Balk Advanced Snorkelling Instructors: Keith Lewis, Lesley Flitcroft, Philip Hill, Thomas Greally, Open Water Snorkelling Instructors: Michael Hulmes, Sheila Holt, Simon Stickley, Warwick Saunders, Guy Dubois De La Cotardiere, Dennis Murphy, Christopher Tomas Brayshaw, Snorkelling Instructors: James Packer, Owen Morris, Tammy Blunt, Paul Spence, Guy Dubois De La Cotardiere, Michael McGuirk, Dennis Murphy, Jodie Cox, Richard Hollis, Neil Alfred Weddell, Michael Smith, Jennifer Harknett, Colin Bennett, John Wake, Helen Joy Whitmore, Adam Gossage, Howard Crabtree, Brian Goddard, Melvyn Heath, Stacy Hammond, Miles Mitchell, Lucy Bradshaw, Hannah Matthews, Emma Swift, David Cripps, Adrian McDowell, Daniel Kennedy, Michael Fox, Laura Hartley, Howard McGlashan, Holly Bambury,  Technical Group The Technical Group team has changed a little since Jeff Reed was elected National Diving Officer in May. Some members have changed positions and new members have joined us. Currently the group is as follows: Technical Group Leader - Mike Rowley techg.leader@bsac.com Technical Chief Examiner - Nick Jewson techchief@bsac.com Responsible for maintaining quality of courses, instructors and instructor trainers; contributes to the development of new training programmes and improvement of existing ones and contributes to all policy and strategy formation. Instructor Development (North) - Paul Haynes techdevn@bsac.com Responsible for promoting, organising and managing technical instructor development in the northern half of the UK. Instructor Development (South) - John Adams techdevs@bsac.com Responsible for promoting, organising and managing technical instructor development in the Southern half of the UK. Equipment manager - Mark Callaghan equipment@bsac.com Responsible for managing the allocation and maintenance of the BSAC Rebreathers. Advisors Trevor Davies - Author, editing & DTP Gavin Anthony - Scientific Sarah Gauci Carlton & Des Murray - Technical diving Ray Mckee & Gary Whyke - Twinset course development  Two new courses announced at DOC 2009 The Accelerated Decompression Procedures Diver Course (ADPD) supports the use of up to 50% Nitrox as a dive gas and up to 80% Nitrox to accelerate decompression. It is open to BSAC Sports Divers (or equivalent), who have completed a buoyancy workshop to gold standard and evidence of 20 dives. Those Sports Divers (or equivalent) whose course has not included Nitrox will need to complete the Nitrox workshop in addition. The ADPD course in not intended to be a direct replacement for the Advanced Nitrox course, as the course covers more than Advanced Nitrox. The course has three main objectives:
There has been a high level of interest in this course and many people have enquired as to when it will be ready and what it will contain, both directly and on the BSAC forums. We expect a healthy uptake as this course, which should appeal to recreational divers who wish to maximise their diving opportunities, as well as by aspiring technical divers. The feedback from pilot events has been very positive. We expect the course to be very popular. Some 'real' comments taken from the feedback on the pilot courses: Did you learn anything? "Almost as important to all the O2 theory that we learnt over the weekend, I particularly benefited from Mike's comments about adjusting my trim, having been observed 'paddling constantly' during one of my deco stops. The movement of just 2 lb of lead from my weight belt to the top of my cylinders made a fantastic change to my physical attitude in the water and made the next dives' deco stop far more comfortable and relaxed. This 'revelation' will stay with me for the rest of my diving time. I believe that the whole membership would benefit from looking at this simple but very important aspect of their diving technique, and the benefit and enhanced enjoyment that it will bring to them when in the water." BSAC Dive Leader "Yes for me the biggest learning for me was the importance of trim rather than buoyancy control having not dived previously with a stage I had not considered this before but this will has a big impact on my diving with or without the additional cylinder. Another point of clarity was the adjustment of the PP02 limit to 1.6 from 1.4 for decompression." BSAC Advanced Diver "For the first time ever I believe that I understand the principles of 'on' and 'off' gassing and how this effect varies with different tissue types. Added to this, I believe that I now understand the effects of increasing and decreasing the nitrogen differential pressure and the subsequent physiological effects that this has on the diver." BSAC Dive Leader "Learned from dive 1 that I really needed more time to configure kit as I had issues re-stowing decompression regulator and could not have unclipped the decompression cylinder by myself (either above or below water). There was not time built into the course to re-configure kit and try it again at 'safe depths'. Also learnt the procedures for using a decompression gas underwater - bubble checks, charging regulators, procedure prior to switching to deco gas." BSAC Advanced Diver (OWI) "The role of gas mixes became much clearer; I could now explain this easily to someone else. The rest was fairly straightforward." BSAC Sports Diver (PADI Open Water) Accelerated Decompression Procedures Diver Course Upgrades The table below details the various means of upgrading to Accelerated Decompression Procedures Diver, Instructor and Instructor Trainer. There will be a short upgrade workshop involving theory and tutorial sessions to facilitate existing Advanced Nitrox Divers to upgrade to ADPD. They will need to complete the buoyancy workshop and achieve a gold standard of buoyancy and trim to ( 0.5 metre) as a pre-requisite to the workshop. There will also be procedures for upgrading Advanced Nitrox Instructors to ADPD Instructors, see the table below. The automatic upgrade upon application is based on those instructors who, by virtue of their current grade have been assessed to the standard of buoyancy and horizontal trim of 0.5 metre.  Mixed Gas Try Dive The Mixed Gas Try-dive is aimed at the following specific groups of divers:
Instructor Development in 2009 During 2009 we gained 127 new Instructors who will be supporting BSAC Technical courses in the future. Most of these (95) have upgraded from Extended Range Diver Instructors and we look forward to the take-up of BSAC mixed gas courses continuing to increase. In addition we have gained 24 new Instructor Trainers, again mostly upgraded from Extended Range Diver Instructor Trainers. These Instructor Trainers will train new instructors and continue the progressive expansion of Technical diving within the club. Technical certifications in 2009 We are seeing a steady increase in the take-up of BSAC Technical courses and key to this is the expansion of the instructor base. With the upgrading of ERD Instructors with mixed gas qualifications to Sports Mixed Gas Instructor there has been a marked increase in the number of Sports Mixed Gas courses being taught. A total of 336 courses have been run up to October 2009. These are made up as follows:
What we are doing in 2010 Expansion of the Technical Instructor base The take up of BSAC Technical courses is increasing and we are seeing a steady increase in Technical Diving Centres wishing to teach BSAC courses. It is important that we continue to build on the success of 2009 and in particular to promote the teaching of technical courses in Branches and Coaching Regions. Key to this is development of new BSAC Technical Instructors at all levels. Consequently 4 instructor development weekends have been planned for the coming year: In the North of UK
In general anyone interested in becoming a BSAC Technical Instructor should contact Paul or John; instructor development can be tailored to suit demand where ever possible. Development of new courses There are plans in hand to develop new courses to build on the BSAC portfolio of Technical courses. Twin-set course This course is at an advanced stage of development and is scheduled to be introduced in the late spring. It will concentrate specifically on the configuration and use of twin-sets in their various forms and will aim to provide divers with information and skills to make informed choices. The course will be open to Sports Divers or equivalent, who have completed 20 dives. Divers will be able to take the Twin-set course or the ADPD course as they choose. Those Sports Divers who complete both the Twin-set Course and the ADPD Course will be awarded a 40 metre depth certification. Expedition Mixed Gas The Expedition Mixed Gas course objective is to complete the portfolio of Technical courses with a high end certification. It will be open to Advanced Mixed Gas Divers (either open circuit or closed circuit) and will concentrate on the organisation and management of technical expeditions for depths deeper than 80 metres. Expansion of unit specific CCR Courses BSAC has established a good reputation for the quality and thoroughness of its rebreather courses. Currently BSAC offers air diluent closed circuit rebreather courses for the Ambient Pressure Diving Ltd range of rebreathers only. With new rebreathers increasingly coming onto the market BSAC needs to provide members with courses to facilitate them. We have plans to do just that and will be working to introduce more unit specific rebreather courses to the BSAC portfolio. BSAC Rebreathers I would like to take this opportunity to remind members that BSAC owns two APD Inspiration Closed Circuit Rebreathers. The old ones have been kindly replaced with full specification models at no cost to the BSAC by Ambient Pressure Diving Ltd. These rebreathers are available to any BSAC registered Inspiration or Evolution Diver who is a current member to run pool or sheltered water try-dive sessions for their Branch. You don't need to be a rebreather instructor to run a try-dive, any BSAC registered Inspiration/Evolution Diver can run one. The Materials and guidance notes can be downloaded from here: Rebreathers They are also available to BSAC CCR Instructors to facilitate the running of Branch or Regional rebreather courses. The costs of transporting them and consumables have to be shared among the participants otherwise there are no extra charges. Anyone wishing to book these rebreathers should please contact Mark Callaghan cTechnical Group Equipment Manager Mike Rowley Technical Group Leader Special Interest and Projects Incidents The number of reported incidents is comparable with recent years and the number of fatalities is a little lower than the average of recent years. The number of incidents involving poorly controlled ascents continues to fall, cases of DCI seem to be similar to the average of recent years and the number of incidents involving boating related problems has increased significantly. Following presentation to the Diving Officer's Conference, the 2009 Incident Report is now available for all to read online or download at Incident Report As in recent years making the report freely available in this way ensures the widest possible availability of the lessons to be learned from the report. Environment England's sea life and habitats will benefit from greater protection after the Marine and Coastal Access Bill received Royal Assent on 12th November 2009, creating the Marine and Coastal Access Act. No other country in the world has successfully introduced a single piece of legislation to protect the marine environment. The Act will create a new marine planning system designed to bring together the conservation, social and economic needs of our seas. A network of Marine Conservation Zones will be created that will protect rare and threatened species and habitats. Four regional projects have started working with local groups and businesses to identify which areas will be designated as Marine Conservation Zones. Businesses will also benefit from a more streamlined consenting and licensing system through the creation of the Marine Management Organisation. A new range of sanctions will also provide a more flexible approach to marine environment enforcement. The Act also includes new systems for managing and protecting our coastal and marine waters through:
Deputy National Diving Officer Awards
Appendixes Appendix 1: Some Frequently Asked Questions: How do I attain Gold Standard Buoyancy (a pre-requisite for attendance on the ADP course)? This can be attained by attending a buoyancy and Trim workshop and attaining gold buoyancy standard during the workshop. Attainment of this standard must be registered at HQ (on Integra). There is no necessity to hold a Q card, so long as the standard has been registered at HQ. All course bosses will check with HQ that attendees are registered at HQ as a sports diver and are registered to gold standard, at the time of booking. Nitrox qualification will be checked, prior to the course attendance by the course boss (e.g. inclusion in Sports Diver course or attendance on a Nitrox workshop/course) and that the diver (minimum Sports Diver) has relevant depth experience to 30m Having been on a Mixed Gas Try Dive, what am I qualified to do? Whilst you will have a clearer level of understanding after completing your try-dive, the training and theory presented was minimal and you will need to seek further training if you wish to continue diving mixed gas. You will have received only the briefest theoretical information necessary to be supervised on this mixed gas try-dive. Considerably more training is required to achieve the necessary level of understanding for safe and efficient mixed gas diving. All decisions regarding the planning and conduct of your try-dive were taken by the instructor who also supervised the dive to ensure the safety of everyone concerned. Mixed gas diving is very rewarding and enables a diver to progress the scope and range of their diving with safety and added enjoyment. However, mixed gas diving is more complex and the risks increase as the depth and durations increase. Thorough training is required to gain a good understanding of the knowledge, skills and techniques necessary. Your try-dive will simply have qualified you to make a more informed decision, concerning your own further training and next steps. The Mixed Gas Try-dive is not a BSAC qualification. The duration of the dive may, however, be counted towards the total open water duration required on the BSAC Sports Mixed Gas course - this will not reduce the number of dives required to complete the course. BSAC has a full portfolio of technical courses to enable the diver to progress to whatever level they aspire. Who can teach on the Mixed Gas Try Dive? There is no 'teaching' on a mixed gas try dive; however BSAC mixed gas try dives must be conducted by a BSAC Sports Mixed Gas Diver Instructor or higher. The mixed gas try dive does not lend itself to training of Assistant Mixed Gas Diver Instructors under any circumstances. The Mixed Gas Try Dive consists of the following elements:
What is different in the updated SDCs? Practical Rescue Management
Dive Planning and Management
This year Council reviewed DOC after the elections in May, considering costs, location, delivery, objectives, content, format and options. Through tough financial negotiations and looking at several alternative venues and against the clock the decision was taken to continue to hold DOC in London for 2009 to a very tightly managed budget. For next year, we will commence in January to investigate and plan for a 2010 event. At DOC we are genuinely interested in what you want from DOC and desire your feedback. A form will be made available on bsac.com to complete and submit. We have though reviewed and consolidated the feedback from past events and are developing a detailed proposal with options. Cost is a major factor and ideally we want to be cost neutral. Appendix 2 - NDC Structure
Appendix 3: Awards
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© Copyright December 2009. British Sub Aqua Club, Telford's Quay, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, CH65 4FL. UK
